940 broken down, second time today!

[Laney760]

Hi to All

Yesterday my Volvo indi in Wales fitted me with all new Volvo belts as well as carrying out an oil and filter change and they put her through MOT (she passed)

On my way home from Wales the engine management light came on along with the battery light and the ABS. Fortunately I'd only covered about 20 miles, turned around, went back to my garage and for some inexplicable reason the brand new Volvo alternator belt was shredded to bits with just a few shreds hanging around (brand new belts were purchased by me from Volvos)

My garage fitted another belt and I restarted my return journey to Oxfordshire. After I came off the motorway near Reading I switched off my engine in traffic but when I came to re-start she took forever, I put this down to a new problem of poor hot starting. Had the same thing again later on in Reading. Two short term breakdowns of five minutes each due to what I thought was poor hot starting, a new problem, I thought maybe my throttle body needs cleaning out or something and planned to get her back to the garage

Arrived home, left the car to cool down before I went out shopping and now I have had to call the RAC. When I finally get her started she runs for a few seconds and then dies

Not happy!


PS, Edited. 1997 B230FK

[mjk164]

Laney, I'm a 960 man but I would first check or replace your fuel pump relay...it sounds like your not getting proper fuel pressure to the injectors.

[Laney760]

Cheers, I was thinking fuel pump. She starts and then dies. Not very confident of RAC ability on such fault finding?

I may have to get them to relay me to a garage but I'm sure nowadays they will only relay you to a local garage and the nearest garage to me I would trust is a Volvo indi near Oxford

[Laney760]

I have no idea how I can get to work tomorrow now! I once looked at public transport and it worked out I would have to get up at 4am and would get home at 9pm. What do people do about work who have unreliable cars? The 940 has got me to my work and back for 3 plus years without missing a beat.

Edit, I think I could easily fit a fuel pump relay myself. Will the RAC man plug into an engine management diagnosis and give me definite fault I am wondering?

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by Laney760

I have no idea how I can get to work tomorrow now! I once looked at public transport and it worked out I would have to get up at 4am and would get home at 9pm. What do people do about work who have unreliable cars? The 940 has got me to my work and back for 3 plus years without missing a beat.

Edit, I think I could easily fit a fuel pump relay myself. Will the RAC man plug into an engine management diagnosis and give me definite fault I am wondering?

It would be unusual for your Volvo to have a system that could be read by the RAC or anyone without the Volvo code reader at the age of it.

However, i'm having sort of similar troubles with my 760 except it refuses to start if left more than 24 hours unless i pull the fuel pump relay apart and massage the innards. As long as i start it at least once in a 24 hour period, it's ok at the moment but i have ordered a new relay.

It would also be worth checking the Radio Suppression Relay, mounted either near the coolant expansion tank or on the passenger side inner wing, depending on model, when built etc. This is the animal, just to help you find it :

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLVO-CAR...P/173555697850

Something else worth looking at is the CPS - Crankshaft Position Sensor, when you are trying to start the car, does the rev counter needle twitch rhythmically? If so, chances are the CPS is ok.

When you try starting the car, if you release the key, can you hear the fuel pumps whirr? If not then it's either the RSR or the fuel pump relay.
If you suspect the RSR, when you locate it, you'll find it's quite a strange relay compared to the average 4-pin relay. If you look at the socket, you'll see two thin wires and two thick ones, one thick one will be red and the other red/green trace. If you remove the relay from its socket and use a piece of thick wire to jumper between the two terminals for the thick wires and it starts, chances are it is the RSR - there's also the small chance that the fault has naturally cleared as it seems to clear itself if left to cool down.

Also check the fuse for the fuel pump in the fusebox, on my old 740s the fuse for the fuel pump had a habit of getting hot and cutting out when it did. Letting it cool restored normal service until it got hot again.

[Laney760]

Thanks for all that Dave

The RAC reader could not read my codes but I do have my own IFAC code reader which a member made and sold me and which I have tried to use, I need to find full instructions on this forum somewhere to use it properly

RAC guy has given me a card for a garage in Reading who he said isn't cheap but is very good and trustworthy but I think I'll have a go at sorting this myself first, I can apparently have an RAC relay to a garage within 10 miles

Its very strange that it ran like a dream all the way down the motorway to Wales, went in the garage, and came out like this? Coincidence?

[Laney760]

My rev counter DOESN'T twitch rythmically when I am trying to start the car

I can hear the fuel pumps whirr

I'm not sure if I'm using the code reader correctly, I am getting 3 3 3

Edit - cooling down made the car a complete non-starter. When she was hot she started very reluctantly, now cold she will not start at all

[Laney760]

Can somebody tell me where the fuel pump relay is please

[Forrest]

It’s worth looking through the FAQ. There is lots of information on stalling and no-start conditions. This might be a good place to start, but there are other articles with useful information.

https://www.volvoclub.org.uk/faq/Hot...enceGuide.html

Problems I have personally encountered have included fuel pump relays and the crank position sensor. The latter was temperature related in my instance because the insulation on the lead broke down when hot, causing the car to stall and not restart until it had cooled - almost the opposite to your problem.

[Laird Scooby]

Sounds very like the CPS, the rev counter twitch is very tiny, needs careful looking for.

However, this thread might be useful for you :

https://www.volvoforums.org.uk/showthread.php?t=285082

I also had similar problems when cold when my CPS went a few weeks back, i could wiggle the wiring and it would spring into life.



That was mine after 30 years and 223k miles, pretty knackered but held together as there's nothing really to touch it where it is on mine.
On the red blocks, you've got heater hoses etc that can all flex and rub on the cable not to mention the fact the plug is on the bulkhead so there is movement between where the sensor is and where it connects to. On mine the connector is between the Vee at the back, just above the sensor on the bellhousing. That means no relative movement between where the sensor mounts and where the connector is, unlike the red-blocks.